Transcriber's Note
There is a small amount of Greek in this text, which has been
transliterated. It is surrounded by plus signs +like this+.
Bold text is indicated with tildes ~like this~.
Characters with a macron (straight line) over them are indicated as
[=x], where x is the letter in question. Those with a caron (v shape)
over them are indicated as [vx]. Superscripted text is indicated with
a caret (^) preceding the superscripted letters.
The original text indicated omitted text with varied numbers of spaced
periods; this convention has been retained.
SOUTHERN LITERATURE
_From 1579-1895._
A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW, WITH COPIOUS EXTRACTS
AND CRITICISMS
FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND THE GENERAL READER
_Containing an Appendix with a Full List of Southern
Authors_
BY
LOUISE MANLY
ILLUSTRATED
RICHMOND, VA.
B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY
1900
COPYRIGHT, 1895, BY LOUISE MANLY.
PREFACE.
The primary object of this book is to furnish our children with
material for becoming acquainted with the development of American life
and history as found in Southern writers and their works. It may serve
as a reader supplementary to American history and literature, or it
may be made the ground-work for serious study of Southern life and
letters; and between these extremes there are varying degrees of
usefulness.
To state its origin will best explain its existence. This may
furthermore be of some help to teachers in using the book, though each
teacher will use it as best suits his classes and methods.
The study of History is rising every day in importance. Sir Walter
Raleigh in his "Historie of the World" well said, "It hath triumphed
over time, which besides it nothing but eternity hath triumphed over."
It is the still living word of the vanished ages.
The best way of teaching history has of late years received much
attention. One excellent method is to read, in connection with the
text-book, good works of fiction, dramas, poetry, and historical
novels, bearing upon the different epochs, and also to read the works
of the authors themselves of these different periods. We thus make
history and literature illustrate and beautify each other. The dry
dates become covered with living facts, the past is peopled with real
beings instead of hard names, fiction receives a solid basis for its
airy architecture, and the mind of the pupil is interested and
broadened. Even the difficult subjects of politics and institutions
gradually assume a more pleasing aspect by being associated with
individual human interests, and condescend to simplify themselves
through personal relations.
To illustrate this method, which I have used with great success in
teaching English History:
In connection with the times of the early Britons, read Tennyson's
"Idyls of the King."
At the Norman Conquest, Bulwer's "Harold."
At the reign of Richard I. (Coeur de Lion), Scott's "Ivanhoe" and
"Talisman," Shakspere's "King John."
At the reign of Elizabeth, Scott's "Kenilworth," the non-historical
plays of Shakspere, as he lived at that epoch, Bacon's Essays, and
others.
I mention merely a few. The amount of reading can be increased almost
indefinitely and will depend on the time of the pupil, the plan of the
teacher, and the accessibility of the books. Most of the books
necessary for English History are now published in cheap form and are
within reach of every pupil.
A great deal of reading is very desirable; it is the only way to give
our pupils any broad view of literature and history, and to cultivate
a taste for reading in those destitute of it. It is often the only
opportunity for reading which some pupils will ever have, and it lasts
them a life-time as a pleasure and a benefit.[1]
The reading may be done in the class or out of school hours. It is
well to read as much as practicable in class, and to have some sketch
of the outside reading given in class.
Geography must also go hand in hand with history, a point now well
understood. But its importance can hardly be exaggerated and its
practice is of the utmost value. One _must_ use maps to study and read
intelligently.
In American History pursue a similar course, as for example:
At the period of discovery and early settlement, read Irving's
"Columbus," Simms' "Vasconselos" (De Soto's Expedition), and
"Yemassee," John Smith's Life and Writings, Longfellow's "Hiawatha"
and "Miles Standish," Kennedy's "Rob of the Bowl," Strachey's Works,
Mrs. Preston's "Colonial Ballads," &c.
In Revolutionary times, the Revolutionary novels of Simms and Cooper,
Kennedy's "Horse-Shoe Robinson;" the great statesmen of the day, as
Jefferson, Adams, Patrick Henry, Hamilton, Washington; Cooke's
"Fairfax" in which Washington appears as a youthful surveyor, and
"Virginia Comedians" in which Patrick Henry appears, Thackeray's
"Virginians;" and others.
Each teacher will make his own list as his time and command of books
allow. And each State or section of our great country will devote more
time to its own special history and literature; this is right, for
knowledge like charity begins at home, and gradually widens until it
embraces the circle of the universe.
In collecting material for classes in American History to read in
accordance with this plan, it was found easy to get cheap editions of
Irving, Longfellow, Cooper, and other writers of the northern States,
but almost impossible to get those of the southern, in cheap or even
expensive editions. And the present volume has been prepared to supply
in part this deficiency. To fit it to the plan suggested, the dates of
the writers and the period and character of their works have been
indicated, and some selections from them given for reading,--too
little, it is feared, to be of much service, and yet enough to
stimulate to further interest and study.
The materials have been found so abundant, even so much more abundant
than I suspected when undertaking the work, that it has been a hard
task to make a selection from the rich masses of interesting writing.
I fear that the work is too fragmentary and contains too many writers
to make a lasting impression in a historical point of view.
If, however, it leads to a sympathetic study of Southern life and
literature, and especially if it makes young people acquainted with
our writers of the past and with something of the old-time life and
the spirit that controlled our ancestors, it will serve an excellent
purpose.
Our writers should be compared with those of other sections and other
countries; and due honor should be given them, equally removed from
over-praise and from depreciation. If we, their countrymen, do not
know and honor them, who can be expected to do so? No people is great
whose memory is lost, whose interest centres in the present alone, who
looks not reverently back to true beginnings and hopefully forward to
a grand future.
So I would urge my fellow-teachers to a fresh diligence in studying
and worthily understanding the life and literature of our past, and in
impressing them upon the minds of the rising generation, so as to
infuse into the new forms now arising the best and purest and highest
of the old forms fast passing away.
My sincere thanks are hereby tendered to the scholars who have aided
me by their advice and encouragement, to living authors and the
relatives of those not living who have generously given me permission
to copy extracts from their writings, to the publishers who have
kindly allowed me to use copyrighted matter, to Miss Anna M. Trice,
Mr. Josiah Ryland, Jr., and the officials of the Virginia State
Library where I found most of the books needed in my work, and to Mr.
David Hutcheson, of the Library of Congress. My greatest indebtedness
is to Professor William Taylor Thom and Professor John P. McGuire, for
scholarly criticism and practical suggestions in the course of
preparation.
1895. LOUISE MANLY.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] See Professor Woodrow Wilson's excellent article on the University
study of Literature and Institutions, in the FORUM, September, 1894.
LIST OF WORKS FOR REFERENCE.
Appleton: Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 6 vols.
Duyckinck: Cyclopaedia of American Literature, 2 vols.
Allibone: Dictionary of Authors, 3 vols.
Kirk: Supplement to Allibone, 2 vols.
Stedman: Poets of America.
Stedman and Hutchinson: Library of American Literature, 11 vols.
Poe: Literati of New York.
Griswold: Poets and Poetry of America.
Prose Writers of America.
Female Poets of America.
Hart: American Literature, Eldredge Bros., Phila.
Davidson: Living Writers of the South, (1869).
Miss Rutherford: American Authors, Franklin Publishing Company,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Southern Literary Messenger, 1834-1863.
Southern Quarterly Review, 1842-1855.
De Bow's Commercial Review.
The Land We Love, 1865-1869.
Southern Review, and Eclectic Review, Baltimore.
Southland Writers, by Ida Raymond (Mrs. Tardy).
Women of the South in Literature, by Mary Forrest.
Fortier: Louisiana Studies, F. F. Hansell, New Orleans.
Ogden: Literature of the Virginias, Independent Publishing Company,
Morgantown, West Virginia.
C. W. Coleman, Jr.: Recent Movement in the Literature of the South,
Harper's Monthly, 1886, No. 74, p. 837.
T. N. Page: Authorship in the South before the War, Lippincott's
Magazine, 1889, No. 44, p. 105.
Professor C. W. Kent, University of Virginia: Outlook for Literature
in the South.
People's Cyclopedia (1894).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
In Chronological Order.
FIRST PERIOD ... 1579-1750.
PAGE
JOHN SMITH, 1579-1631 33
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas 35
Our Right to Those Countries 38
Ascent of the River James, 1607 42
WILLIAM STRACHEY, in America 1609-12 45
A Storm Off the Bermudas 45
JOHN LAWSON, in America 1700-08 48
North Carolina in 1700-08 49
Harvest Home of the Indians 53
WILLIAM BYRD, 1674-1744 54
Selecting the Site of Richmond and Petersburg, 1733 58
A Visit to Ex-Governor Spotswood, 1732 58
Dismal Swamp, 1728 61
The Tuscarora Indians and Their Legend of a Christ, 1729 65
SECOND PERIOD ... 1750-1800.
HENRY LAURENS, 1724-1792 67
A Patriot in the Tower 68
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1732-1799 71
An Honest Man 73
How to Answer Calumny 74
Conscience 74
On his Appointment as Commander-in-Chief, 1775 74
A Military Dinner-Party 76
Advice to a Favorite Nephew 76
Farewell Address to the People of the United States, 1796 77
Union and Liberty 77
Party Spirit 79
Religion and Morality 81
PATRICK HENRY, 1736-1799 82
Remark on Slavery, 1788 84
Not Bound by State Lines 84
If This Be Treason, 1765 84
The Famous Revolution Speech, 1775 84
WILLIAM HENRY DRAYTON, 1742-1779 87
George III.'s Abdication of Power in America 89
THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1743-1826 91
Political Maxims 94
Religious Opinions at the Age of Twenty 94
Scenery at Harper's Ferry, and at the Natural Bridge 95
On Freedom of Religious Opinion 98
On the Discourses of Christ 98
Religious Freedom (the Act of 1786) 98
Letter to his Daughter 100
Jefferson's Last Letter, 1826 101
DAVID RAMSAY, 1749-1815 103
British Treaty with the Cherokees, 1755 105
Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie, 28 June, 1776 106
Sumpter and Marion 107
JAMES MADISON, 1751-1836 109
Opinion of Lafayette 110
Plea for a Republic 111
Character of Washington 112
ST. GEORGE TUCKER, 1752-1828 113
Resignation, or Days of My Youth 115
JOHN MARSHALL, 1755-1835 116
Power of the Supreme Court 117
The Duties of a Judge 118
HENRY LEE, 1756-1818 119
Capture of Fort Motte by Lee and Marion, 1780 120
The Father of His Country 124
MASON LOCKE WEEMS, 1760-1825 126
The Hatchet Story 126
JOHN DRAYTON, 1766-1822 127
A Revolutionary Object Lesson in the Cause of
Patriotism 1775 128
The Battle of Noewee, 1776 129
WILLIAM WIRT, 1772-1834 131
The Blind Preacher (James Waddell) 132
Mr. Henry against John Hook 135
JOHN RANDOLPH, 1773-1833 137
Revision of the State Constitution, 1829 138
GEORGE TUCKER, 1775-1861 140
Jefferson's Preference for Country Life 142
Establishment of the University of Virginia 143
THIRD PERIOD ... 1800-1850.
HENRY CLAY, 1777-1852 147
To Be Right above All 148
No Geographical Lines in Patriotism 148
Military Insubordination 148
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, 1780-1843 151
The Star-Spangled Banner 151
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, 1780-1851 153
The Mocking-Bird 155
The Humming-Bird 157
THOMAS HART BENTON, 1782-1858 158
The Duel Between Randolph and Clay, 1826 159
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, 1782-1850 161
War and Peace 164
System of Our Government 164
Defence of Nullification 164
The Wise Choice 166
Official Patronage 167
NATHANIEL BEVERLEY TUCKER, 1784-1851 167
The Partisan Leader 168
DAVID CROCKETT, 1786-1836 173
Spelling and Grammar: Prologue To His Autobiography 173
On a Bear-hunt 175
Motto: Be Sure You Are Right 178
RICHARD HENRY WILDE, 1789-1847 178
My Life Is Like the Summer Rose 179
AUGUSTUS BALDWIN LONGSTREET, 1790-1870 180
Ned Brace at Church 180
A Sage Conversation 182
ROBERT YOUNG HAYNE, 1791-1839 185
State Sovereignty and Liberty 185
SAM HOUSTON, 1793-1863 189
Cause of the Texan War of Independence 190
Battle of San Jacinto, 1836 193
How To Deal With the Indians 196
WILLIAM CAMPBELL PRESTON, 1794-1860 199
Literary Society in Columbia, S. C., 1825 201
JOHN PENDLETON KENNEDY, 1795-1870 204
A Country Gentleman in Virginia 205
His Wife 207
How Horse-Shoe and Andrew Captured Five Men 210
HUGH SWINTON LEGARÉ, 1797-1843 217
Commerce and Wealth vs. War 217
Demosthenes' Courage 219
A Duke's Opinions of Virginia, North and South Carolina,
and Georgia, in 1825 221
MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR, 1798-1859 223
The Daughter of Mendoza 223
FRANCIS LISTER HAWKS, 1798-1866 224
The First Indian Baptism in America 225
Virginia Dare, the First English Child Born in America 226
The Lost Colony of Roanoke 226
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE, 1802-1870 228
The Closing Year 228
Paragraphs 231
EDWARD COATE PINKNEY, 1802-1828 231
A Health 232
Song: We Break the Glass 233
CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR GAYARRÉ, 1805-1895 235
Louisiana in 1750-1770 236
The Tree of the Dead 240
MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY, 1806-1873 243
The Gulf Stream 246
Deep-Sea Soundings 247
Heroic Death of Lieutenant Herndon 249
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, 1806-1870 252
Sonnet--The Poet's Vision 255
The Doom of Occonestoga 255
Marion, the "Swamp-Fox" 262
ROBERT EDWARD LEE, 1807-1870 265
Duty--To His Son 266
Human Virtue--At the Surrender 266
His Last Order, 1865 266
Letter Accepting the Presidency of Washington College 268
JEFFERSON DAVIS, 1808-1889 269
Trip To Kentucky at Seven Years of Age, and Visit to
General Jackson 271
Life of the President of the United States 272
Farewell to the Senate, 1861 274
EDGAR ALLAN POE, 1809-1849 276
To Helen 279
Israfel 279
Happiness 281
The Raven 281
ROBERT TOOMBS, 1810-1885 284
Farewell to the Senate, 1861 286
OCTAVIA WALTON LE VERT, 1810-1877 288
To Cadiz from Havanna, 1855 289
LOUISA SUSANNAH M'CORD, 1810-1880 291
Woman's Duty 292
JOSEPH G. BALDWIN, 1811-1864 294
Virginians in a New Country 294
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPHENS, 1812-1883 296
Laws of Government 297
Sketch in the Senate, 1850 298
True Courage 301
ALEXANDER BEAUFORT MEEK, 1814-1865 301
Red Eagle, or Weatherford 302
PHILIP PENDLETON COOKE, 1816-1850 305
Florence Vane 305
THEODORE O'HARA, 1820-1867 308
Bivouac of the Dead 308
FOURTH PERIOD ... 1850-1895.
GEORGE RAINSFORD FAIRBANKS, 1820- 311
Osceola, Leader of the Seminoles 311
RICHARD MALCOLM JOHNSTON, 1822- 314
Mr. Hezekiah Ellington's Recovery 315
JOHN REUBEN THOMPSON, 1823-1873 317
Ashby 318
Music in Camp 319
JABEZ LAMAR MONROE CURRY, 1825- 321
Relations between England and America 322
MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON, 1825- 324
The Shade of the Trees 324
CHARLES HENRY SMITH, ("BILL ARP"), 1826- 326
Big John, on the Cherokees 327
ST. GEORGE H. TUCKER, 1828-1863 329
Burning of Jamestown in 1676 330
GEORGE WILLIAM BAGBY, 1828-1883 332
Jud. Brownin's Account of Rubinstein's Playing 332
SARAH ANNE DORSEY, 1829-1879 336
A Confederate Exile on His Way to Mexico, 1866 338
HENRY TIMROD, 1829-1867 341
Sonnet--Life Ever Seems 344
English Katie 344
Hymn for Magnolia Cemetery 345
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE, 1830-1886 346
The Mocking-Bird (At Night) 348
Sonnet--October 349
A Dream of the South Wind 349
JOHN ESTEN COOKE, 1830-1886 350
The Races in Virginia, 1765 351
ZEBULON BAIRD VANCE, 1830-1894 358
Changes Wrought by the War 360
The Country Gentlemen 360
The Negroes 362
ALBERT PIKE, 1809-1891 365
To the Mocking-Bird 365
WILLIAM TAPPAN THOMPSON, 1812-1882 367
Major Jones's Christmas Present 368
JAMES BARRON HOPE, 1827-1887 370
The Victory at Yorktown 371
Washington and Lee 372
JAMES WOOD DAVIDSON, 1829- 373
The Beautiful and the Poetical 373
CHARLES COLCOCK JONES, JR., 1831-1893 376
Salzburger Settlement in Georgia 376
MARY VIRGINIA TERHUNE ("MARION HARLAND") 379
Letter Describing Mary [Ball] Washington When a Young
Girl 381
Madam Washington at the Peace Ball 381
AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON, 1835- 383
A Learned and Interesting Conversation 384
DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS, 1836- 387
The Land Where We Were Dreaming 388
JAMES RYDER RANDALL, 1839- 389
My Maryland 390
ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN, 1839-1886 392
WILLIAM GORDON MCCABE, 1841- 393
Dreaming in the Trenches 393
SIDNEY LANIER, 1842-1881 394
Song of the Chattahoochee 396
What is Music? 397
The Tide Rising in the Marshes 397
JAMES LANE ALLEN 398
Sports of a Kentucky School in 1795 399
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, 1848- 401
The Tar-Baby 403
ROBERT BURNS WILSON, 1850- 405
Fair Daughter of the Sun 406
Dedication--A Sonnet 407
"CHRISTIAN REID," FRANCES C. TIERNAN 407
Ascent of Mt. Mitchell, N. C. 409
HENRY WOODFEN GRADY, 1851-1889 413
The South before the War 413
Master and Slave 413
Ante-bellum Civilization 416
THOMAS NELSON PAGE, 1853- 419
Marse Chan's Last Battle 421
MARY NOAILLES MURFREE, ("CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK") 423
The "Harnt" that Walks Chilhowee 423
DANSKE DANDRIDGE, 1859- 429
The Spirit and the Wood-Sparrow 430
AMÉLIE RIVES CHANLER, 1863- 431
Tanis 432
GRACE KING 437
La Grande Demoiselle 437
WAITMAN BARBE, 1864- 441
Sidney Lanier 442
MADISON CAWEIN, 1865- 442
The Whippoorwill 443
DIXIE 444
LIST OF AUTHORS AND WORKS omitted for lack of space 445
INDEX.
PAGE
A Confederate Exile on His Way to Mexico, _Sarah
A. Dorsey_ 338
Address in Congress, 1800, on the Death of Washington,
_Henry Lee_ 124
A Dream of the South Wind, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Advice to His Nephew, _George Washington_ 76
A Health, _E. C. Pinkney_ 232
Alamo, Fall of the 192
A Learned and Interesting Conversation, _Augusta E. Wilson_ 384
ALLEN, JAMES LANE 398
Anecdotes of Alexander H. Stephens 296, 297
An Honest Man, _George Washington_ 73
Ante-bellum Civilization, _Henry W. Grady_ 416
Arber, Professor, on John Smith's Writings 35
A Sage Conversation, _A. B. Longstreet_ 182
Ascent of Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina, _Christian Reid_ 409
Ascent of the James River, 1607, _John Smith_ 42
Ashby, _John R. Thompson_ 318
AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES 153
Bacon, Nathaniel 330
BAGBY, GEORGE WILLIAM 332
BALDWIN, JOSEPH G. 294
BARBE, WAITMAN 441
Battle of Noewee, 1776, _John Drayton_ 129
Battle of San Jacinto, 1836, _Sam Houston_ 193
Battle of the Blue Licks, Ky., 1782 400
Battle of Tohopeka, or Horse-Shoe Bend, Ala. 302
Bear Hunt, _David Crockett_ 175
Beauvoir 270, 273
Beautiful and the Poetical, The, _Jas. Wood Davidson_ 373
Beauty is Holiness 395
BENTON, THOMAS HART 158
"Be sure you are right," _David Crockett_ 178
Big John, on the Cherokees, _Bill Arp_ 327
BILL ARP (CHARLES HENRY SMITH) 326
Bivouac of the Dead, _Theodore O'Hara_ 308
Blind Preacher, _William Wirt_ 132
Boone, Daniel 401
British Treaty with the Cherokees, 1755, _David Ramsay_ 105
Burning of Jamestown, 1676, _St. George H. Tucker_ 330
Byrd, Evelyn 56
BYRD, WILLIAM 54
CALHOUN, JOHN CALDWELL 161
Calhoun and the Union 275
Calhoun, Death of 300
Capture of Fort Motte, _Henry Lee_ 120
Cause of the Texan War of Independence, _Sam Houston_ 190
CAWEIN, MADISON 442
Changes Wrought by the War, _Z. B. Vance_ 360
CHANLER, MRS. AMÉLIE RIVES 431
Character of Washington, _James Madison_ 112
Cherokees, Big John on the, _Bill Arp_ 327
CLAY, HENRY 147
Closing Year, The, _George D. Prentice_ 228
Commerce and Wealth _vs._ War, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 217
Conscience, _George Washington_ 74
COOKE, PHILIP PENDLETON 305
COOKE, JOHN ESTEN 350
Corn-Shucking and Christmas Times 362
Country Gentleman in Virginia and His Wife, _John P.
Kennedy_ 205
Country Gentlemen 360
Cow-Boy's Song 339
CRADDOCK, CHARLES EGBERT, (MISS M. N. MURFREE) 423
CROCKETT, DAVID 173
CURRY, JABEZ LAMAR MONROE 321
Dale, General Sam 302
DANDRIDGE, MRS. DANSKE 429
Daughter of Mendoza, _M. B. Lamar_ 223
DAVIDSON, JAMES WOOD 373
DAVIS, JEFFERSON 269
Davis, Winnie 270
Davis, Mrs. Varina Jefferson 271
Davy Crockett's Motto 178
Days of My Youth, or Resignation, _St. George Tucker_ 115
Death of Calhoun 300
Death of Lieutenant Herndon 249
Dedication Sonnet (to his Mother), _Robert Burns Wilson_ 407
Deep-Sea Soundings, _M. F. Maury_ 247
Defence of Nullification, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Demosthenes, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 219
DeSaussure, Judge, and Social Dining in Columbia 201
Discourses of Christ, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
Dismal Swamp, _William Byrd_ 61
Dixie 444
Dixie and Yankee Doodle 319
Doom of Occonestoga, _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 255
DORSEY, MRS. SARAH ANNE 336
DRAYTON, WILLIAM HENRY 87
DRAYTON, JOHN 127
Dreaming in the Trenches, _Wm. Gordon McCabe_ 393
Duel Between Randolph and Clay, 1826, _Thomas H. Benton_ 159
Duke of Saxe-Weimar in Virginia, North and South Carolina,
and Georgia, 1825, _Hugh S. Legaré_ 221
Duties of a Judge, _John Marshall_ 118
Duty, _Robert E. Lee_ 266
England and America, Relations between, _J. L. M. Curry_ 322
English Katie, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Ennui 101
Establishment of the University of Virginia, _George Tucker_ 143
FAIRBANKS, GEORGE RAINSFORD 311
Fair Daughter of the Sun, _Robert Burns Wilson_ 406
Farewell Address to the American People, 1796, _George
Washington_ 77
Farewell to the Senate, 1861, _Jefferson Davis_ 274
Farewell to the Senate, 1861, _Robert Toombs_ 286
Father of His Country, _Henry Lee_ 124
First Indian Baptism in America, _Francis L. Hawks_ 225
"First in War, first in Peace" 124
Five Demands of the South 286
Florence Vane, _Philip Pendleton Cooke_ 305
Fort King, Florida 311
Fort Motte, Capture of, _Henry Lee_ 120
Freedom of Religious Opinion, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
GAYARRÉ, CHARLES ÉTIENNE ARTHUR 235
George the Third's Abdication of Power in America,
_William Henry Drayton_ 89
Gladstone's Opinion of the United States 322
Goliad, Massacre at 192
GRADY, HENRY WOODFEN 413
Grave of Dr. Elisha Mitchell 411
Gulf Stream, _M. F. Maury_ 246
Hampton at the Battle of Noewee, South Carolina, 1776 130
Happiness, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 281
HARLAND, MARION (MRS. M. V. TERHUNE) 379
"Harnt" that Walks Chilhowee, The, _Charles Egbert
Craddock_ 423
Harper's Ferry, Scenery at 95
HARRIS, JOEL CHANDLER 401
Harvest Home of the Indians, _John Lawson_ 53
Hatchet Story, _Mason L. Weems_ 126
HAWKS, FRANCIS LISTER 224
HAYNE, ROBERT YOUNG 185
HAYNE, PAUL HAMILTON 346
Hayne, William Hamilton 346
Helen, To, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
HENRY, PATRICK 82
Hermitage, General Jackson at The 271
Heroic Death of Lieutenant Herndon, _M. F. Maury_ 249
HOPE, JAMES BARRON 370
Horse-Shoe Bend, Battle of 302
HOUSTON, SAM 189
How Horse-Shoe and Andrew Captured Five Men, _John P.
Kennedy_ 210
How Ruby Played, _George William Bagby_ 332
How to Answer Calumny, _George Washington_ 74
How to Deal with the Indians, _Sam Houston_ 196
Human Virtue, _R. E. Lee_ 266
Humming-Bird, The, _J. J. Audubon_ 157
Hymn for Magnolia Cemetery, _Henry Timrod_ 345
"If This Be Treason--", _Patrick Henry_ 84
"I'll HAUNT you," 317
Indian Doom of Excommunication 255
Israfel, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
Jackson, General, at Home 271
Jamestown, Burning of, 1676, _St. George H. Tucker_ 330
James Waddell, the Blind Preacher, _William Wirt_ 132
JEFFERSON, THOMAS 91
Jefferson's Last Letter, June 24, 1826, _Thomas Jefferson_ 101
Jefferson's Preference for Country Life, _George Tucker_ 142
Jefferson's Religious Opinions at Twenty, _Thomas Jefferson_ 94
John Hook, Patrick Henry against, _William Wirt_ 135
JOHNSTON, RICHARD MALCOLM 314
JONES, CHARLES COLCOCK, JR. 376
Jud. Brownin's Account of Rubinstein's Playing, _George
William Bagby_ 332
KENNEDY, JOHN PENDLETON 204
KEY, FRANCIS SCOTT 151
KING, GRACE 437
La Fayette, Madison's Opinion of, _James Madison_ 110
La Grande Demoiselle, _Grace King_ 437
LAMAR, MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE 223
Land Where We Were Dreaming, The, _D. B. Lucas_ 388
LANIER, SIDNEY 394
Lanier, To Sidney, _Waitman Barbe_ 442
La Rabida 291
Last Letter of Jefferson, June 24, 1826, _Thomas Jefferson_ 101
LAURENS, HENRY 67
Laurens, John, the "Bayard of the Revolution" 67
Laws of Government, _A. H. Stephens_ 297
LAWSON, JOHN 48
LEE, HENRY 119
LEE, ROBERT EDWARD 265
Lee's Last Order, _R. E. Lee_ 266
Lee's Letter Accepting the Presidency of Washington
College, _R. E. Lee_ 268
LEGARÉ, HUGH SWINTON 217
Letter to Martha Jefferson, _Thomas Jefferson_ 100
LE VERT, MADAME OCTAVIA WALTON 288
Life Ever Seems--Sonnet, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Life of the President of the United States, _Jefferson
Davis_ 272
Literary Society in Columbia in 1825, _Wm. C. Preston_ 201
LONGSTREET, AUGUSTUS BALDWIN 180
Lost Colony of Roanoke, _F. L. Hawks_ 226
Louisiana in 1750-'70, _C. E. A. Gayarré_ 236
LUCAS, DANIEL BEDINGER 387
Madam Washington at the Peace Ball, _Marion Harland_ 381
MADISON, JAMES 109
Madison, Mrs. Dolly 110
Madison's Opinion of La Fayette, _James Madison_ 110
Magnolia Cemetery, Hymn for Dedication, _Henry Timrod_ 345
Major Jones's Christmas Present, _W. T. Thompson_ 368
MARION HARLAND, (MRS. M. V. TERHUNE) 379
Marion, Sumpter and, _David Ramsay_ 107
Marion, the "Swamp-Fox," _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 262
Marquis de Vaudreuil, the "Great Marquis" 237
Marse Chan's Last Battle, _Thomas Nelson Page_ 421
"Marseillaise of the Confederacy" 389
MARSHALL, JOHN 116
Maryland, My Maryland 390
Mary Washington When a Girl, _Marion Harland_ 381
Mary Washington's Monument, _Marion Harland_ 379
Master and Slave 413
MAURY, MATTHEW FONTAINE 243
Maxims of Jefferson 94
MCCABE, WILLIAM GORDON 393
M'CORD, MRS. LOUISA SUSANNAH 291
M'CORD, D. J. 201, 291
MEEK, ALEXANDER BEAUFORT 301
Military Dinner Party, _George Washington_ 76
Military Insubordination, _Henry Clay_ 148
"Millions for Defence" 116
Mitchell's Grave, Mt. Mitchell, N. C. 411
Mocking-Bird, The, _J. J. Audubon_ 155
Mocking-Bird (At Night), _Paul H. Hayne_ 348
Mocking-Bird, To The, _Albert Pike_ 365
Mocking-Bird and Nightingale Compared 100
Mr. Hezekiah Ellington's Recovery, _R. M. Johnston_ 315
MURFREE, MARY NOAILLES, (CHARLES EGBERT CRADDOCK) 423
Music in Camp, _John R. Thompson_ 319
My Life Is Like the Summer Rose, _R. H. Wilde_ 179
My Maryland, _James R. Randall_ 390
Naming of Tallahassee, The 288
Natural Bridge of Virginia 97
Ned Brace at Church, _A. B. Longstreet_ 180
No Geographical Lines in Patriotism, _Henry Clay_ 148
North Carolina in 1700-1708, _John Lawson_ 49
Not Bound by State Lines, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Nullification, Defence of, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Object-Lesson in the Cause of Patriotism, _John Drayton_ 128
Occonestoga, Doom of, _Wm. Gilmore Simms_ 255
October--A Sonnet, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Official Patronage, _John C. Calhoun_ 167
O'HARA, THEODORE 308
Old Church at Jamestown 39, 331
On a Bear Hunt, _David Crockett_ 175
Osceola, Leader of the Seminoles, _George R. Fairbanks_ 311, 312
Our Right to Those Countries, _John Smith_ 38
Page, John, Letter to 94
PAGE, THOMAS NELSON 419
Paragraphs, _George D. Prentice_ 231
Partisan Leader, _N. Beverley Tucker_ 168
Party Spirit, _George Washington_ 79
Patrick Henry against John Hook, _William Wirt_ 135
Patrick Henry's Famous Revolution Speech, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Patriot in the Tower, _Henry Laurens_ 68
Payne, John Howard, among the Cherokees 327
PIKE, ALBERT 365
PINKNEY, EDWARD COATE 231
Plea for a Republic, _James Madison_ 111
Pocahontas,--Rescue of John Smith, _John Smith_ 35
POE, EDGAR ALLAN 276
Poet's Vision.--A Sonnet, _William Gilmore Simms_ 255
Political Patronage, _John C. Calhoun_ 167
Power of the Supreme Court, _John Marshall_ 117
Powhatan 35
Preference for Country Life, _George Tucker_ 142
PRENTICE, GEORGE DENISON 228
PRESTON, MRS. MARGARET JUNKIN 324
PRESTON, WILLIAM CAMPBELL 199
Prologue to Arms and the Man, _James Barren Hope_ 371
Prologue to Autobiography, _David Crockett_ 173
Races in Virginia, 1765, _John Esten Cooke_ 351
RAMSAY, DAVID 103
RANDALL, JAMES RYDER 389
RANDOLPH, JOHN, OF ROANOKE 137
Raven, The, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 281
Red Eagle, or Weatherford, _A. B. Meek_ 302
Red Eagle and General Jackson 304
REID, CHRISTIAN, (FRANCES C. FISHER, MRS. TIERNAN) 407
Relations Between England and America, _J. L. M. Curry_ 322
Religion and Morality, _George Washington_ 81
Religious Freedom, _Thomas Jefferson_ 98
"Remember the Alamo!" 195
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas, _John Smith_ 35
Resignation: or, Days of My Youth, _St. George Tucker_ 115
Revision of the State Constitution, _John Randolph_ 138
Revolutionary Object-Lesson, _John Drayton_ 128
Revolution Speech, 1775, _Patrick Henry_ 84
RIVES, AMÉLIE (MRS. CHANLER) 431
"Rope of sand" 186
Rubinstein's Playing, _George William Bagby_ 332
RYAN, ABRAM JOSEPH, (FATHER RYAN) 392
Sage Conversation, A, _A. B. Longstreet_ 182
Salzburger Settlement in Georgia, 1734, _C. C. Jones, Jr._ 376
Sang-Digger,[2] The, _Amélie Rives_ 432
Savannah in 1735 378
Scenery at Harper's Ferry and at the Natural Bridge,
_Thomas Jefferson_ 95
Selecting the Site of Richmond and of Petersburg, 1733,
_William Byrd_ 58
Seminole War 313
Sergeant Jasper at Fort Moultrie, 1776, _David Ramsay_ 106
Sergeant Jasper at Savannah, 1779 107
Sidney Lanier, To, _Waitman Barbe_ 442
Siege of Fort Moultrie, _David Ramsay_ 106
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE 252
Sketch in the Senate, February 5, 1850, _A. H. Stephens_ 298
Slavery, Remark on, _Patrick Henry_ 84
Slave, Master and 413
SMITH, CHARLES HENRY (BILL ARP) 326
SMITH, JOHN 33
Smith, John, Writings of 35
Song of the Chattahoochee, _Sidney Lanier_ 396
Sonnet: Dedication, _R. B. Wilson_ 407
Song: We Break the Glass, _E. C. Pinkney_ 233
Sonnet: Life ever seems, _Henry Timrod_ 344
Sonnet: October, _Paul H. Hayne_ 349
Sonnet: Poet's Vision, _William Gilmore Simms_ 255
South Before the War, The, _Henry W. Grady_ 413
Southern Literary Messenger 277, 317, 332
Southern "Mammy" and the Children 363
Speaking of Clay in the Senate, 1850, The 298
Spelling and Grammar (Prologue to Autobiography),
_David Crockett_ 173
Spirit and Wood-Sparrow, The, _Danske Dandridge_ 430
Sports of a Kentucky School in 1795, _James Lane Allen_ 399
Spotswood, Ex-Gov., and his Home in 1732 58
Star-Spangled Banner, _Francis Scott Key_ 151
State Sovereignty and Liberty, _Robert Y. Hayne_ 185
STEPHENS, ALEXANDER HAMILTON 296
Stonewall Jackson's Last Words 324
Storm Off the Bermudas, _Wm. Strachey_ 45
STRACHEY, WILLIAM 45
Sugar-Cane: Introduction into the United States 236
Sumpter and Marion, _David Ramsay_ 107
"Swamp-Fox," The 262
System of Our Government, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
Tanis, _Amélie Rives_ 432
Tar-Baby, The, _Joel Chandler Harris_ 403
TERHUNE, MRS. MARY VIRGINIA (MARION HARLAND) 379
Texas Prairie and Cow-Boy's Song 339
The Land Where We Were Dreaming, _D. B. Lucas_ 388
The Spirit and the Wood-Sparrow, _Danske Dandridge_ 430
The South Before the War, _Henry W. Grady_ 413
THOMPSON, JOHN REUBEN 317
Tide Rising in the Marshes, _Sidney Lanier_ 397
TIERNAN, MRS. FRANCES C. (CHRISTIAN REID) 407
TIMROD, HENRY 341
To Be Right Above All, _Henry Clay_ 148
To Cadiz from Havanna, 1855, _Madame Le Vert_ 289
To Helen, _Edgar Allan Poe_ 279
Tohopeka, Battle of 302
TOOMBS, ROBERT 284
To the Mocking-Bird, _Albert Pike_ 365
Tree of the Dead, _C. E. A. Gayarré_ 240
Trip to Kentucky at Seven Years of Age, _Jefferson Davis_ 271
True Courage, _A. H. Stephens_ 301
TUCKER, ST. GEORGE 113
TUCKER, GEORGE 140
TUCKER, NATHANIEL BEVERLEY 167
TUCKER, ST. GEORGE H. 329
Tuscarora Indians and Their Legend of a Christ, _William
Byrd_ 65
Under the Shade of the Trees, _Margaret J. Preston_ 324
Union and Liberty, _George Washington_ 77
University of Virginia, Establishment of, _George Tucker_ 143
VANCE, ZEBULON BAIRD 358
Victory at Yorktown, 1781, _James Barren Hope_ 371
Virginia Dare, _F. L. Hawks_ 226
Virginian or American? _Patrick Henry_ 84
Virginians in a New Country, _Joseph G. Baldwin_ 294
Visit to Ex-Governor Spotswood, 1732, _William Byrd_ 58
Visit to the Hermitage 271
War and Peace, _John C. Calhoun_ 164
WASHINGTON, GEORGE 71
Washington and the Hatchet 126
Washington's Advice to His Nephew, _George Washington_ 76
Washington, Character of, _James Madison_ 112
Washington's Farewell to the American People, 1796,
_George Washington_ 77
Washington and Lee, _James Barren Hope_ 372
Washington's Mother When a Girl 381
Washington's Mother at the Peace Ball 381
Washington's Speech in Congress on his Appointment as
Commander-in-Chief, 1775, _George Washington_ 74
Washington, Memorial Address in Congress, 1800, by
Henry Lee, 124
Weatherford, or Red Eagle 302
We Break the Glass,--Song, _E. C. Pinkney_ 233
WEEMS, MASON LOCKE 126
What is Music? _Sidney Lanier_ 397
Whippoorwill, The, _Madison Cawein_ 443
WILDE, RICHARD HENRY 178
WILSON, MRS. AUGUSTA EVANS 383
WILSON, ROBERT BURNS 405
WIRT, WILLIAM 131
Wise Choice, _John C. Calhoun_ 166
Woman's Duty, _Louisa S. M'Cord_ 292
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Ginseng-Digger.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Captain John Smith 34
Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas 36
Jamestown, Va. The first permanent English settlement
in America 39
Storm at Sea 44
Sir Walter Raleigh 50
Westover, the Home of William Byrd 55
Evelyn Byrd 57
The Chapel, University of Georgia, Athens 62
The Tower of London 69
George Washington 72
Washington Taking the Oath of Office 75
Old St. John's Church, Richmond, Va. 83
Fort Moultrie, S. C. Fort Sumter in the Distance 88
Monticello, the Home of Jefferson 92
Harper's Ferry 96
Jasper Replacing the Flag 104
William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va. 114
University of Virginia 141
Henry Clay 146
Star-Spangled Banner and Seal of the United States 152
Scene in Louisiana 154
John Caldwell Calhoun and His Home 163
The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas 174
University of North Carolina 188
Old Plantation Home 200
State House, Columbia, S. C. Oppo. 211
Tulane University, New Orleans 234
Florida State Agricultural College 244
"Woodlands," the Home of W. Gilmore Simms 253
General R. E. Lee Oppo. 265
Washington and Lee University 267
Beauvoir, the Home of Jefferson Davis 273
Robert Toombs 285
University of Alabama 299
University of Kentucky 307
Osceola 312
Natural Bridge, Virginia 325
University of Mississippi 337
University of Texas (Main Building), Austin 347
State Capitol of North Carolina 359
Tomb of Mary, the Mother of Washington, Fredericksburg, Va. 380
General T. J. Jackson (Stonewall) Oppo. 388
Arkansas Industrial University 402
Mt. Mitchell, N. C. Above the Clouds 408
Grady Monument, Atlanta, Ga. 414
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi 420
University of Tennessee, Knoxville 424
Model School, Peabody Normal College 433
Mississippi Industrial Institute and College for Girls Oppo. 446
Southern Literature.
FIRST PERIOD ... 1579-1750.
JOHN SMITH.
~1579=1631.~
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH, the first writer of Virginia, was born at
Willoughby, England, and led a life of rare and extensive adventure.
"Lamenting and repenting," he says, "to have seen so many Christians
slaughter one another," in France and the Lowlands, he enlisted in the
wars against the Turks. He was captured by them and held prisoner for
a year, but escaped and travelled all over Europe. He finally joined
the expedition to colonize Virginia, and came over with the first
settlers of Jamestown in 1607. His life here is well known; he
remained with the colony two years. He afterwards returned to America
as Admiral of New England, but did not stay long. He spent the
remainder of his life in writing accounts of himself and his travels,
and of the colonies in America.
WORKS.
True Relation (1608).
Map of Virginia (1612).
Description of New England (1616).
New England's Trials (1620).
Accidence for Young Seamen (1626).
Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer
Isles (1624).
True Travels (1630).
Advertisements for Inexperienced Planters of New England (1631).
[Illustration: ~Captain John Smith.~]
Captain Smith's style is honest and hearty in tone, picturesque, often
amusing, never tiresome. It is involved and ungrammatical at times,
but not obscure. The critics have professed to find many inaccuracies
of historical statement; but the following, from Professor Edward
Arber, the editor of the English Reprint of Smith's Works, will acquit
him of this charge:
"Inasmuch as the accuracy of some of Captain Smith's
statements has, in this generation, been called in
question, it was but our duty to subject every one of
the nearly forty thousand lines of this book to a most
searching criticism; scanning every assertion of fact
most keenly, and making the Text, by the insertion of a
multitude of cross-references, prove or disprove itself.
"The result is perfectly satisfactory. Allowing for a
popular style of expression, the Text is homogeneous;
and the nine books comprising it, though written under
very diverse circumstances, and at intervals over the
period of twenty-two years (1608-1630), contain no
material contradictions. Inasmuch, therefore, as
wherever we _can_ check Smith, we find him both modest
and accurate, we are led to think him so, where no such
check is possible, as at Nalbrits in the autumn of 1603,
and on the Chickahominy in the winter of 1607-'8." See
Life, by _Simms_, by _Warner_, and by _Eggleston_ in
"Pocahontas."
RESCUE OF CAPTAIN SMITH BY POCAHONTAS, OR MATOAKA.
(_From Generall Historie._)
[This extract from his "Generall Historie" is in the
words of a report by "eight gentlemen of the Jamestown
Colony." It is corroborated by Captain Smith's letter to
the Queen on the occasion of Pocahontas' visit to
England after her marriage to Mr. John Rolfe. Matoaka,
or Matoax, was her real name in her tribe, but it was
considered unlucky to tell it to the English strangers.]
[Illustration: ~Rescue of Captain Smith by Pocahontas.~]
At last they brought him [Smith] to _Meronocomoco_, where was
_Powhatan_ their Emperor. Here more than two hundred of those grim
Courtiers stood wondering at him, as he had beene a monster; till
_Powhatan_ and his trayne had put themselues in their greatest
braveries. Before a fire vpon a seat like a bedstead, he sat covered
with a great robe, made of _Rarowcun_ skinnes, and all the tayles
hanging by. On either hand did sit a young wench of 16 or 18 yeares;
and along on each side the house, two rowes of men, and behind them
as many women, with all their heads and shoulders painted red; many of
their heads bedecked with the white downe of Birds; but every one with
something; and a great chayne of white beads about their necks.
At his entrance before the King, all the people gaue a great shout.
The Queene of _Appamatuck_ was appointed to bring him water to wash
his hands, and another brought him a bunch of feathers, in stead of a
Towell to dry them; having feasted him after their best barbarous
manner they could, a long consultation was held, but the conclusion
was, two great stones were brought before _Powhatan_; then as many as
could layd hands on him, dragged him to them, and thereon laid his
head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines,
_Pocahontas_, the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could
prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne vpon his to
saue him from death: whereat the Emperour was contented he should liue
to make him hatchets, and her bells, beads, and copper; for they
thought him as well of all occupations as themselues. For the King
himselfe will make his owne robes, shooes, bowes, arrowes, pots;
plant, hunt, or doe anything so well as the rest.
_They say he bore a pleasant shew,
But sure his heart was sad.
For who can pleasant be, and rest,
That liues in feare and dread:
And having life suspected, doth
It still suspected lead._
Two dayes after, _Powhatan_ having disguised himselfe in the most
fearefullest manner he could, caused Captain _Smith_ to be brought
forth to a great house in the woods, and there vpon a mat by the fire
to be left alone. Not long after from behinde a mat that divided the
house, was made the most dolefullest noyse he ever heard; then
_Powhatan_, more like a devill than a man, with some two hundred more
as blacke as himselfe, came vnto him and told him now they were
friends, and presently he should goe to _James_ towne, to send him two
great gunnes, and a gryndstone, for which he would giue him the
Country of _Capahowosick_, and for ever esteeme him as his sonne
_Nantaquoud_.
So to _James_ towne with 12 guides _Powhatan_ sent him. That night,
they quartered in the woods, he still expecting (as he had done all
this long time of his imprisonment) every houre to be put to one death
or other; for all their feasting. But almightie God (by his divine
providence) had mollified the hearts of those sterne _Barbarians_ with
compassion. The next morning betimes they came to the Fort, where
_Smith_ having vsed the Salvages with what kindnesse he could, he
shewed _Rawhunt_, _Powhatan's_ trusty servant, two demi-Culverings and
a millstone to carry _Powhatan_; they found them somewhat too heavie:
but when they did see him discharge them, being loaded with stones,
among the boughs of a great tree loaded with Isickles, the yce and
branches came so tumbling downe, that the poore Salvages ran away
halfe dead with feare. But at last we regained some conference with
them, and gaue them such toyes: and sent to _Powhatan_, his women, and
children such presents, as gaue them in generall full content.
OUR RIGHT TO THOSE COUNTRIES, TRUE REASONS FOR PLANTATIONS, RARE
EXAMPLES.
(_From Advertisements for the Inexperienced._)
Many good religious devout men have made it a great question, as a
matter in conscience, by what warrant they might goe to possesse those
Countries, which are none of theirs, but the poore Salvages.
[Illustration: ~Jamestown, Va.~
The first permanent English settlement in America.]
Which poore curiosity will answer it selfe; for God did make the
world to be inhabited with mankind, and to have his name knowne to all
Nations, and from generation to generation: as the people increased,
they dispersed themselves into such Countries as they found most
convenient. And here in _Florida_, _Virginia_, _New-England_, and
_Cannada_, is more land than all the people in Christendome can manure
[_cultivate_], and yet more to spare than all the natives of those
Countries can use and culturate. And shall we here keepe such a coyle
for land, and at such great rents and rates, when there is so much of
the world uninhabited, and as much more in other places, and as good
or rather better than any wee possesse, were it manured and used
accordingly?
If this be not a reason sufficient to such tender consciences; for a
copper knife and a few toyes, as beads and hatchets, they will sell
you a whole Countrey [_district_]; and for a small matter, their
houses and the ground they dwell upon; but those of the _Massachusets_
have resigned theirs freely.
Now the reasons for plantations are many. _Adam_ and _Eve_ did first
begin this innocent worke to plant the earth to remaine to posterity;
but not without labour, trouble, and industry. Noah and his family
began againe the second plantation, and their seed as it still
increased, hath still planted new Countries, and one Country another,
and so the world to that estate it is; but not without much hazard,
travell, mortalities, discontents, and many disasters; had those
worthy Fathers and their memorable offspring not beene more diligent
for us now in those ages, than wee are to plant that yet unplanted for
after-livers: Had the seed of _Abraham_, our Saviour Christ Jesus and
his Apostles, exposed themselves to no more dangers to plant the
Gospell wee so much professe, than we; even we our selves had at this
moment beene as Salvages, and as miserable as the most barbarous
Salvage, yet uncivilized.
The _Hebrewes_, the _Lacedemonians_, the _Goths_, _Grecians_,
_Romans_, and the rest; what was it they would not undertake to
enlarge their Territories, inrich their subjects, and resist their
enemies? Those that were the founders of those great Monarchies and
their vertues, were no silvered idle golden Pharisees, but industrious
honest hearted Publicans; they regarded more provisions and
necessaries for their people, than jewels, ease, and delight for
themselves; riches was their servants, not their masters; they ruled
as fathers, not as tyrants; their people as children, not as slaves;
there was no disaster could discourage them; and let none thinke they
incountered not with all manner of incumbrances; and what hath ever
beene the worke of the best great Princes of the world, but planting
of Countries, and civilizing barbarous and inhumane Nations to
civility and humanity; whose eternall actions fils our histories with
more honour than those that have wasted and consumed them by warres.
Lastly, the _Portugals_ and _Spaniards_ that first began plantations
in this unknowne world of _America_ till within this 140. yeares
[1476-1616], whose everlasting actions before our eyes, will testifie
our idlenesse and ingratitude to all posterity, and neglect of our
duty and religion we owe our God, our King, and Countrey, and want of
charity to those poore Salvages, whose Countries we challenge, use and
possesse: except wee be but made to marre what our forefathers made;
or but only tell what they did; or esteeme our selves too good to take
the like paines where there is so much reason, liberty, and action
offers it selfe. Having as much power and meanes as others, why should
English men despaire, and not doe as much as any? Was it vertue in
those Hero[e]s to provide that [which] doth maintaine us, and
basenesse in us to do the like for others to come? Surely no: then
seeing wee are not borne for ourselves but each to helpe other; and
our abilities are much alike at the howre of our birth and the minute
of our death: seeing our good deeds or bad, by faith in Christs
merits, is all wee have to carry our soules to heaven or hell: Seeing
honour is our lives ambition, and our ambition after death to have an
honourable memory of our life; and seeing by no meanes we would be
abated of the dignitie and glory of our predecessors, let us imitate
their vertues to be worthily their successors; or at least not hinder,
if not further, them that would and doe their utmost and best
endeavour.
ASCENT OF THE JAMES RIVER, 1607.
(_From Newes from Virginia._)
The two and twenty day of Aprill [_or rather May, 1607_], Captain
_Newport_ and myself with diuers others, to the number of twenty two
persons, set forward to discouer the Riuer, some fiftie or sixtie
miles, finding it in some places broader, and in some narrower, the
Countrie (for the moste part) on each side plaine high ground, with
many freshe Springes, the people in all places kindely intreating vs,
daunsing, and feasting vs with strawberries, Mulberies, Bread, Fish,
and other their Countrie prouisions whereof we had plenty; for which
Captaine _Newport_ kindely requited their least fauors with Bels,
Pinnes, Needles, beades, or Glasses, which so contented them that his
liberallitie made them follow vs from place to place, and euer kindely
to respect vs. In the midway staying to refresh our selues in a little
Ile foure or five sauages came vnto vs which described vnto vs the
course of the Riuer, and after in our iourney, they often met vs,
trading with vs for such prouision as wee had, and arriuing at
_Arsatecke_, hee whom we supposed to bee the chiefe King of all the
rest, moste kindely entertained vs, giuing vs in a guide to go with vs
vp the Riuer to _Powhatan_, of which place their great Emperor taketh
his name, where he that they honored for King vsed vs kindely.